


A Heart Beating

by HolyCorrupt



Category: Original Work
Genre: (Just for like one scene), Blood Drinking, Body Horror, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, Freeform, Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Non-Consensual Blood Drinking, Original Fiction, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn, Vampires
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-14
Updated: 2018-07-14
Packaged: 2019-06-10 11:11:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15290262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HolyCorrupt/pseuds/HolyCorrupt
Summary: After a terrible year abroad all Jason wants to do is get back home to all the small things he has come to take for granted.However it all comes crashing down after a mysterious night he can barely remember, leaving him with a stange mark on his neck and foggy ghosts of memories of what truely happened.Just when he thought things were starting to get better he must now juggle his sudden journey into becoming a vampire all while his budding feelings for his childhood friend Freddie start to manifest ontop of the blood lust.





	1. Letter

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time publishing a written work in a long time, I hope if you're reading this you enjoy my dumb ocs :) 
> 
> Apologizes in advance for any grammer or spelling mistakes I am quite rusty and using this story as a means to improve ^^

Dear Jason,

I hope Germany is treating you well! Ever since you ran out of abroad texts I've been missing your nightly messages telling me about all the cool things you're experiencing over there! 

I hope you haven't replaced me with a taller more fun friend over there! I'd be betrayed forever haha! But honestly it has been pretty lonely out here without you. The school semester just wasn't the same without you there by my side to help me stay up late studying over the exam break! 

My mom is still mad at you for leaving in senior year and graduating abroad and now my ~best friend~ isn't in my graduation photos. :P But that's okay I don't blame you, I know that our sleepy little town over here can be awfully boring and getting out is important for you I just know it. Plus by the time your back we'll have most of a whole summer to make up for it!

I got so bored over here not having you around I bucked up and got that job I always jabbered about to you with my uncle... you remember right? The tree planting gig up on the weekends. It's actually pretty nice, 3 days of work on the weekends and still time to keep my grades from plummeting into the dust. 

Oh yeah, you better teach me some german once your back okay? I bet your accent is different now? God I hope you don't sound too different?! WHAT IF you don't remember any english?! Haha I’m only joking, 

Do you know if you'll be back by your birthday? Me and the gang want to throw you a big get together SINCE THE BABY OF THE GROUP WILL BE 18 finally!!! haha!! I know you're home in three weeks so that probably won't be enough time for you to send me back a letter but I'm content knowing you'll be back soon. 

There is a lot of stuff you need to catch up on, there is waaaay too much to say that'll take up 4 more pages of this thing and I know its getting pretty winded already... 

(but here's a gossip summary because I know how thirsty for the goods you probably are) 

Becca and Kevin actually broke up this year, we both know how off and on it is though, and I have already heard they might be talking about getting back together.. Yes I hear you over there. Again. 

Faith is still the smartest girl we know, this will be her last summer here before she goes off to Harvard (I'll congratulate her for you, don't worry dude) 

There is a lot more but I'll save it so we have something to actually talk about later :) 

I just miss you a lot man, this is the longest we've been apart our whole lives...  
I really do hope you're okay, it eats me up knowing I can't be there for you if you need me aside from snail mail and let's face it, snail mail died out years ago :/ 

Anyways I didn't mean to get too sappy with this whole thing, Just know you have me back home so you won't be too lost getting back into Eagle Points sleepy tempo, (okay this is getting gayer I know) 

See you soon Jas. 

 

Your best bud, 

Freddie ☆


	2. Sticks and Stones

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick warning for some slurs being used in a discriminating way. 
> 
> For ease imagine all the dialoge that is italicized is in german for readability... 
> 
> This story was supposte to be short and simple but I went and... made it longer and longer LOL

With slowly trembling fingers Jason sighs softly as he places the letter his host family had passed to him while he was doing his essay back next to the numerous other papers and photos. He was only just starting it for his abroad semester. He had to write about his experiences and what he learned while in a foreign region. He decided to write about the things he had actually enjoyed while over here, which was sadly… only a couple things. 

  
When he first started this semester in Germany he was excited... Hell he was practically bursting with energy and determination when he first started. He had worked hard toward this! He got Straight A's all throughout high school and when they selected him for this exchange program with their sister school here in Germany... He jumped on it. 

  
If he was being truly honest with himself he regrets it. It's not that he wasn't  _ grateful _ and thankful for the opportunity but this was his first time away from home ever, and this wasn't exactly the easiest first place to do this.    
A strange foreign land with nobody he knew, all speaking a language he only had a base knowledge of. He was a lost black sheep in  world that seemed to be full of wolves. 

  
He knew enough now to get through basic life without the use of English but it didn't help him from the flash of embarrassment every time he messed up the natives pronunciation.    
  


Sighing heavily again; fingertips slowly running through the natural tangles of his shoulder-length wavy black hair. He pushes it over his scalp and out of his eyes, the dark honey hued iris' flickering back over to the letter he had just gotten from his best friend. It brought a smile to quirk over his lips thinking over the words once more. 

  
He closes his eyes, dark thick lashes resting against his bagged eyes. It was almost dark, he needed to finish this essay within the week and then another two weeks and he'd be back home. Back to familiarity and being able to express himself fully without misunderstandings. Smiling at the thought of home and the sleepy little hamlet nestled in a most beautiful pines he sighs trying to blink his focus back to his assignment. 

  
It was no use, Freddies perfect letter reminding him of everything he missed was too heavy on his thoughts. Exhaling again and mumbling something to himself he stood from the wheelie chair, pushing it back under the desk his host family had provided him.     
  


The rest of his home away from home consisted of a single sized bed, dresser and a closet. There wasn't much room in the means of decoration, he had put up pictures of his family and friends on the wall his desk was up against, but it was crowded enough in here now that he was packing up everything and the all things he had gotten over the year he's been here officially didn't fit in the two suitcases and backpack he had brought. 

  
Deciding he wasn't going to bother with that problem either he slowly turns the knob to the rest of his host family's home. One of the only rays of light that gave him pleasure over here was his host family.  

  
He was so thankful for these strangers turned family that brought him in and tried their best to show him all their culture and help him out with the grammar and correcting his phrasing to be more natural. 

  
His host mother spotted him first tilting her head to the side while she continued to braid her long straw colored hair. She acknowledged him from across the room before daft fingers finished up with her braided crown and she stood after brushing her lap off. 

  
_ "Jason?" _ She asked in her usual gentle tone, a flair of concern as she approached him and straightened a couple long strains of his hair back into their proper placement. 

  
_ "I thought you were working on your essay? Did you finish it already?" _ She asks after brushing his shoulders off as well, fixing the triangle collar of his button up. Neat and proper. 

  
Jason shook his head at the question knowing he was currently in a slump over the whole thing. Emilia; as Jason has come to know her hummed herself, a workers hand coming to his shoulder squeezing gently. 

  
_ "I think you need some fresh air, you've been cooped up in your room the last two days, take a walk down to the town it's still early enough for you to grab a drink if you want?" _ She suggests pink lips pursed with amusement, she had this universal motherly aura to her so Jason trustz her advice as much as he didn't want to go out on his own. 

  
He's able to do it... but he didn't feel safe alone, even so he takes a great deep inhale before sighing it out in a soothing manner.

 

Yeah actually this was probably a smart move, get some fresh air and fresh cultural ideas for his paper. 

  
Nodding to his host mother with newfound determination he smiles as she claps his shoulder pleasantly and pushes him toward the door. 

  
_ "Yes, yes that's a wonderful idea, and between you and me..." _ Her voice turns hushed and she leans in closer. 

 

_ " Me and papa have been trying to get you out of the house to plan you a surprise party since we'll sadly miss your real birthday"  _ There was amusement in her tone as Jason's lips parted into a silent 'o'. 

  
That made sense. He laughs quietly shaking his head, one thing he found out about this family is that they are terrible at keeping secrets. 

  
_ "Okay well, I'll be home in an hour or two is that enough time?" _ He asked as he grabbed his jacket, it was currently still light out but in the late June it was over here, it was going to be colder once the sunset. 

  
Giving his host mother a quick goodbye with a wave he headed off into the last sunbeams of the day. 

  
This was probably exactly what he needed.    
                          ________________

  
Jason took the trail toward town that he usually took on his way to school. It involved passing over a bubbling brook via an old wood and cobblestone bridge that he had already taken numerous photos off, the landscape of where he was never fails to impress him. 

  
There was still pine trees but not as numerous as there was back home, the plant life was both familiar and foreign at the same time. It wrenched his stomach with nostalgia. 

  
Exhaling through his nose and trying not to dwell too heavily on any given thought he passed the bridge and continues his way.  

  
Passing by the school first he pauses, looking up at the rusty red exterior. Black iron spiked gates looming above him like jagged teeth. 

  
He had barely passed over here... he did his best but everything was so... new and jumbled up compared to what he was used to, his grades definitely took a hit. This was supposed to be the year he would show off to his dream collage. Have an experience like this under his belt and really make himself shine...He couldn't help but feel like he had... failed this whole thing. 

  
His only friends over here was his younger host brother and sister, he barely spoke to anyone else aside from when other students would ask him questions about Canada. 

  
He lingers for a moment longer his thoughts drifting back to home. Back to Freddie. 

  
Back to that loneliness expressed by his best friend. How could he leave him all alone for the most important year of their lives? What would he think when he actually told him how hard this whole thing was for him. 

  
His own loneliness festers like a tight knot in his stomach as his feet took him away, down a stone pathway that fed into the town he was calling home for now. 

  
The town was known for its splendid surrounding sights, tucked away from tourists. Only the luckiest have come to know these streets. But he didn't feel lucky. 

  
As soon as he stepped foot into the local grocery he was confronted by the very person he  _ didn't _ want to see tonight.

  
In the very back corner he notices a framillar hooded figure looking through the magazines, he quickly drags his eyes downward trying to avoid him entirely. 

  
The similar aged teen who had yet to spot him shifts in his spot, drawing all of Jason's attention as he scoots to a separate aisle away from his range of sight. 

  
The teens name was Anton, and he had been spending the last year antagonizing him at school and whenever he had the chance outside of that setting as well. 

  
Trying to avoid the colorful insults that poured out of Anton's month typically was a top priority. He needed stress-free right now.    
Slowly making his way down the stores candy and snack aisle he ponders about what the weirdest thing he's tried already to bring back to Freddie.... 

  
...and thats why he was having trouble packing his bags. Too many nicknacks and snacks, mostly for people other than himself. 

  
Picking up a chocolate bar with a fancy colorful foil package and a drink for himself he made his way cautiously toward the counter, tempted to pull his own hoodie up to avoid Anton even further, but that was a little too strange he decides while placing his products up on the counter, pulling his wallet out of his back jean pocket to pay- 

  
" _ well isn't it our little maple scented fag boy" _   
Jason slowly swivels with a unamused look, eyes lifeless. Fuck he was caught. 

  
_ "Hello Anton, how pleasant to see you at this hour"  _ He replies in the most mild and perfectly formulated phrase he could muster; even if his finger tips trembles when he takes his change. 

  
_ "Fuck off with the nice shit Jason, When are you getting your ass out of here? Me and big brother want to leave you with a parting gift" _ He sneered, his undercut hair greasy. Jason couldn't help but take in his appearance right at this moment. 

  
To say the least Anton looks like a walking corpse, skin sickly pale compared to the healthy farmers tan he had before. Was he sick? He did miss the last couple weeks of school... but he hadn't thought of it at the time too overjoyed  _ to not see him for once _ .

  
The shop keeper rumbles something a little too accented and slurred for him to fully understand but he got the gist. He wanted both of them to leave. 

  
Jason feels his pulse quicken as he nods curtly, his mouth firmly shut as he left the store. His current options would be to bolt down the winding streets and lose him along the way or enter another store and hope he wouldn't be stalked. 

  
Anton and his brother Paul terrorized him every chance they got, they didn't like him and he had no idea why... He had tried his best to be pleasant to them but within his first couple months here, back when he still had available minutes and texts on his travel package, Paul attacked him out of nowhere on a chilly late November while he was on his way home from school. 

  
He had a split wound on his eyebrow when he got there, because Paul was already graduated from the school he kept quiet ... the other man was older by a couple years and beat him in both height and physique. 

  
Speaking of bullies Anton grabs him suddenly by the cuff of his jacket while he was stalling trying to think of his next move.

  
_ "where do you think your going pretty boy?" _ Anton askes after Jason whips around in his grip making him snap his hand back with a smirk, acting as if he wasn't the one who just grabbed him. 

  
_ "You know it's rude to refuse a gift right?" _ He continues crossing his arms over his chest. His clothes look a little more... baggy on him? 

  
Jason quirks a scarred eyebrow into a furrow, his eyes squinting in confusion. 

  
" _Leave me alone..._ " He mutters having specifically looked that phrase up for these types of problems. Anton just laughes, those hands spreading wide to his sides. 

  
_ “I can't wait for *you* to leave me alone, I'm sick of seeing your mug around here"  _ Anton snapped an... unnatural sounding snarl escaping his clenched teeth. 

  
Shock at that noise startling his limbs awake he steps back, already holding his hands out in defense. He glances behind him wanting to escape this situation as soon as humanly possible.  

  
The way Anton's sickly body clenches over as he starts laughing maniacally about the reaction scares him more however and without a second thought he bolts.

  
Sneakers hitting the pavement as he runs senting little jolts of adrenaline pumping through him. His heart is wild now, thudding frenzied against his ribcage. Sparing a look back once he rounded another corner, ducking into a narrow and dim alley way. 

  
A dagger of ice stabs through him as soon as he catches sight of Anton chasing him down. There was a glint of pure, wild hunger in his eyes and like an antelope spotting the cheetah he flips into overdrive. 

  
Dropping the bag of his purchases he pushes his legs further his breath puffing around him in hot clouds. 

  
He runs until his legs feel like they're being ripped apart by thorns. He keeps running. 

  
Eventually even his runners body can't handle this kind of sprinting strain. His knee is the first to go as he missteps and falls, he's in a forested area close to town having not really payed attention to where he was going and rather just trying to out run him. 

  
Swearing he pants against the pine needle carpeted trail, limbs shaking like a newborn lamb he attempts to scramble to his feet. His wide eyes glance behind him quickly determining that he lost Anton for the moment being. 

  
Not wanting to take a chance on it he pushes himself upward, cursing as he feels a sharp sting of his now torn jeans dragging against his bloodied knee. Thankful he didn't break anything he thinks as he limps forward. He had gotten the lead in this situation and he was fully intent on keeping it that way. 

  
He wonders however as he notices how much darker the forest was getting with each step if this was a good choice. Getting lost in a forest so close to his date back home wasn't on the itinerary. 

  
The last flashes of sunset color streaming through the dense canopy overhead was his only reference point as he picked his way carefully over the increasingly complex terrain. 

  
Roots of trees seemily grasping up trying to snag his leg and pull him down under again. Jason shuttered glancing back again over his shoulder. No sight of him. Relaxing for a moment he presses himself against a sturdy looking Oak.

 

Hands better suited for instruments then fighting came to his neck, feeling his rapid fire of a pulse. 

  
He closes his eyes against the waves of panic still washing over him. He remembers an exercise Freddie taught him after his first ever anxiety attack back in 8th grade. 

  
Deep breaths. 

  
Clear your mind, think of something that grounds you. 

  
Curly chocolate hair, that drifted the scent of sea water. Dimples indenting every smile he flashes his way... 

  
His eyes snap open as his best friends after image burns in his brain. 

  
A sad little frustrated laugh escapes him, it's followed by a prickle to his temple, vision blurring the forest into a underwater prison. 

  
Failing at his attempt to calm down, he gives up, sinking down to the forest floor, letting every bottled feeling seep from him. Hands clenched into fists so tight his knuckles blooming into white.

  
It was only after the hurricane passed and he was in the eye of the storm that he pressed his cheek against his knee noticing it had gotten way darker in his little freak out. He glances at his watch cursing to himself again. 

  
Damnit his host family was expecting him in 20 minutes now. Sniffling and rubbing at his reddened eyes he got his feet under him again using his new tree friend as support. 

  
Giving the humble trunk a grateful pat he starts making his slow way back where he came from. By now Anton must have  _ surely _ lost interest in him. 

  
The sounds of the forest coming to life in the still warm night was the only company for Jason as he picked his way carefully back onto the main trail. 

  
However as he rounds the corner he notices Anton  _ and _ Paul chatting between each other. Quickly he presses himself flat against a tree out of their sight. Their voices are so hushed and fast Jason can't catch what they were saying right away. However his name being dropped in randomly convinces him it was something to do with him. 

  
Fear ebbed back into him, stiffening his limbs and cursing his poor brain to irrational thoughts. 

  
Why were they still looking for him? Couldn't they just leave him alone? He was gone in two weeks and they could forget he even existed. 

  
God why did he even decide to leave the comfort of a frustrating essay. Hell he would rather write 30 frustratingly difficult essays about his terrible trip then be in this current situation.

  
He ducks down as quietly as possible as Paul pauses mid-sentence, turning toward the bushes that Jason had hid behind. He sniffed the air once... then twice, nostrils flaring as if he was a bloodhound on the prowl. 

  
Could he smell him? 

  
Peering further through the dense brush he watches as Paul seems to land on a scent his sharp eyes lining up with Jason's own red rimmed ones. 

  
Terror freezes him and they stare at each other for what felt like minutes until Paul cocks his head to the side toward his brother.

  
_ "Company..." _ Paul growls out, that same strange tone entering his voice like it did Anton's. 

  
Injured and exhausted it only took him trying to jump up and get a second wind for his shoe to lodge into a thick tree root, whipping him hard enough into the ground to knock the breath out of him. 

  
There is a sharp hyena laugh before Jason blacks out.    
                          ________________

  
Jason isn't 100% sure when it all started coming back to him. He remembers flashes and a vague sense of pain along his neck, as if something latched on tight to him. 

  
His eyes were still closed but he become slowly aware that he was conscious. His eye lids felt so heavy... it took quite a bit of effort for him to finally get them cracked open. 

  
The room he was in was so white and bright however he instantly clenches them back closed, instincts trying to pull his hands upward to cover his eyes from the piercing light. He quickly found they were not responding to his brain, slumping back down after a pathetic attempt of movement. 

  
Confused he risked his eyes once more to the torment glancing downward, his fuzzy vision eventually adjusted. Ah he was in a bed. 

  
Head still throbbing painfully he slowly looked around his surroundings. There was a vase of flowers beside the bed on a table stand. Judging by the rest of the room he quickly came to realize he was in a hospital. 

  
Panic seeping through him again he lifted himself up as much as he could, that uncomfortable burning sensation in his neck made him pause though. Fingers lifting and finding the bandage firmly placed against the side of it. 

  
What happened? Last thing he remembered was smashing his head on the ground trying to get away from Paul. A frown pulling at the corners of his lips he brushed the hair out of his face. He didn't remember anything after that... Did they beat him up? He wonders this as he inspects himself over slowly, the crinkly hospital sheets moving with him. 

  
Finding nothing out of the ordinary aside from his skinned knee and the weird bandage on his neck he wasn't too sure what to even think. 

  
Headache blooming he settled back down for a while, closing his eyes to the harsh whiteness and slowly drifted back off into a dream that was nothing but flashing frames of color and blood. 

  
He awoke again as soon as the door to his room opened not that long after his REM sleep set in. 

  
It was a welcomed surprise to see Emilia in the door frame. Her tender eyes seemed concerned but immedently relieved when she spots that he was awake and well. She quickly hurries over to him wrapping strong arms around him before pulling away with a furrowed look, lips overturned into a frown. 

  
_ "Jason you scared the daylights out of me! What were you doing alone in the woods like that?!"  _ Her voice was accusing but she sighs deeply as soon as her outburst ended noticing the nervous look Jason was giving her. 

  
_ "We were so worried...someone walking their dog found you passed out" _ giving him another motherly smile that made guilt twist in Jason's guts. He averted his eyes from her expectant ones. Jason had no idea how to even attempt to explain this... he still wasn't sure on the full details either. 

  
_ "urm... Anton from school chased me down in the woods and I tripped and that's all I know"  _ Jason explains carefully, trying his hardest to avoid that sharp glare that entered his host mother's eyes when he mentioned the name Anton. She knew he had been giving him issues all year but she didn't know the full extent of it. 

  
_ “That boy is a menace..." _ Emilia grumbled before fixing her hands carefully into her lap. 

  
Silence filled the room as Jason fidgeted awkardly not sure what else to say...he didn't want to burden Emilia with the full pathetic story. Thankfully she lifted herself carefully placing a gentle hand through his hair. 

  
_ "well... either way the rest of the family is home waiting for you... Doctor gave us an all clear, at first we were concerned because it looked like you got a nasty snake bite on your neck there." _ She explained gesturing at Jason's bandaged neck. The moment she pointed it out his hands rose to the injury again smoothing over the course fabric.

 

A snake bite? 

  
_ "He checked for any venom signs but couldn't find any so... he's thinking either you landed on it when you fell or it mistakenly struck you while you were out... either way it's bed rest for you understand me young man?" _ She smiles pleasantly with a bright laugh. 

  
Jason laughs back nervously... Yeah he wasn't planning on anymore outings without someone with him.

 

In fact he was quite ready to lay low until he could come home.


End file.
